Research

Prof. Alexander Palevski is engaged with quantum electronic transport in condensed matter systems at low temperatures. The research topics span over many areas of modern solid state physics: superconductivity, ferromagnetism, Quantum Hall effect, and mesoscopic physics. Due to the diversity of the subject also the materials which are investigated cover a broad range of solids, like normal metals, ferromagnets, semiconductors, topological insulators and superconductors. The common denominator among the devices made of these material systems is the low dimensionality. A vast majority of the experimentally studied electronic systems are either two- or one-dimensional. Small dimensions of the devices fabricated in the lab are achieved using state of the art nanofabrication techniques, including photolithography, electron beam lithography, focused ion beam microscopy and other advanced techniques.

Research achievements include: Quantum interference effects were observed and analyzed allowing to establish the dephasing mechanism in several exotic systems such as InAs, SrTiO3/LaAlO3 , BiSe3; the role of the electron-electron interaction was elucidated and the so called Luttinger liquid model was demonstrated as the adequate theory for transport in quantum nanowires; the role of the triplet superconductivity was established and quantum oscillations and so called -junctions were observed in SFS junctions; superconductivity was discovered in GeSb2Te4 at a temperature above 4 K at hydrostatic pressure exceeding 9 GPa.

Future directions include: effect of spin-orbit interaction on quantum transport in quantum wires and Aharonov Bohm rings, in particular the study of the Luttinger parameter and Berry phase in these systems.